1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to container carriers and more particularly to a carrier for relatively large containers, such as half-gallon bottles and gallon jugs.
2. Prior Art
Containers of the kind with which this invention is concerned are widely used to package a great variety of liquids for commercial sale. Owing to increasing consumer interest in purchasing bulk quantities of many consumer products, because of the monetary savings involved, such containers have increased substantially in size and hence weight. For example, beverages such as milk, soft drinks, and water, and other liquids, such as swimming pool chemicals, are now commonly sold in half gallon bottles and gallon jugs. These containers are commonly fabricated from plastic or glass by a molding process, such as blow molding, and have an upper reduced neck through which the container contents are initially introduced into the container and later dispensed from the container. The open upper end of this neck is normally closed by a removable cap, such as a screw cap which is removable by rotating the cap or by a plastic cap having a pull tab which is torn off to release the cap for removal. Circumferentially surrounding the neck just below the lower edge of the cap is a shoulder, referred to as a "neck ring" or "chime".
A variety of carriers have been devised for holding two or more containers of this kind arranged side by side in a row or rows. For example, one type of carrier has a bottom tray on which the containers rest and an upper handle fixed to the tray for holding the carrier. In some cases, the carrier includes means at some level above the tray for supporting the containers laterally. One example of a carrier of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,261,498. Another type of carrier for such containers has a relatively rigid body, commonly a one piece molded plastic body, having spaced collar-like portions which receive the necks of the containers. These collar-like portions, or simply collars as they are referred to herein, include inner, circumferentially spaced, resiliently flexible neck engaging elements which yield axially and radially to permit passage of the container necks and neck rings through the collars. The elements then spring inwardly to engage the under sides of the neck rings in such a way as to support the containers in suspended fashion with most of the container length hanging below the carrier. Examples of carriers of this latter type are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,090,729, 4,093,295, 4,235,468, 4,247,142, 4,249,766, and 4,471,987.